Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

120 P. F. Lazarsfeld
cases we recognize that the final decision might have been slightly arbitrary.
Sometimes subject matter finds preferential treatment because of the personal
interest of a prominent scholar, or because an institution happens to exist
which facilitates the flow of work in a specific direction. Such cases have been
classified in a third group and called accidental variations. A more refined
analysis might reveal that even these accidents could be explained by a cultural
tradition or social structure of a country. But we lack the necessary insight and
must leave such refinement to better informed scholars.
The second part of our report deals with selected examples of controversies,
difficulties and resistances surrounding the development of sociology in various
countries.
Variation in subject nzatter: emphases and objects of research
A. Topical variations
In a number of countries, particularly the developing ones, a national concern
with the modification of traditional social structures has turned the interest of
sociologists towards a common focal point. An example is India with her
problem of caste and of the village, where pertinent work is interesting for its
own sake. This also ties the sociologist in with the main political problem of the
country: how to organize a central administration in view of such heterogeneity
and fragmentation. Similarly, under the impact of industrialization, many
African countries, and even Japan, are concerning themselves with changes in
their traditional kinship systems. A concentration of sociology on the impact of
social change is also evident in Iran1I2.
One of the most succint statements on the aims of sociology in a developing
country has been made by an Indonesian sociologist:
In addition to the universities, increased interest in the application of sociology is also
being shown by the People’s Consultative Assembly and the Government. In particu-
lar, it is hoped that sociology can make a useful contribution towards the implementa-
tion of the plan for overall national development.. . Another factor which has stimulated
the development of sociology is the growing awareness that economic development
cannot be brought about through economic measures only, but that it likewise neces-
sitates a profound understanding of the structure and characteristics of the society as
well as of the forces operative within it. Hence, to date there has been a growing recog-
nition that sociology and sociological research are needed to implement successfully
the practical measures undertaken by the Government as part of its overall responsi-
bilities. These measures include, for example, the rehabilitation of convicts, the inte-
gration of cultural subgroups living in isolated forest and mountain areas into In-
donesian society as a whole, efforts towards integration and assimilation of minority
and majority groups, demobilisation of members of the armed forces, and village com-
munity development in the widest sense of the term.113
Another phenomenon, evidenced in Iran and North Africa, may or may not
be typical of the developing countries, but certainly has implications for the fu-
ture direction of sociology. This is the tendency for sociologists to constitute the
vanguard of a growing intelligentsia, and, by means of their professional attune-
ment to ‘social facts’, to provide a linkage between political decision-making on
the one hand and social needs and trends on the other.II4